13 Minutes
by TheImmortalChaplin
Summary: Songfic Challenge. -Cobb struggles with the recent death of Mal. -Based on the song '13 Minutes' by A Perfect Circle.


**Here's a little one-shot to a song-fic challenge. Hope you enjoy!**

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**13 Minutes- A Perfect Circle**

It had been a month. One month and the pain hadn't subsided one bit. One month since she did it. Since she ruined her life…since she had ruined _his_ life.

Dom Cobb checked his watch. _13 minutes. _He had done the math and he had 13 minutes until the timer on the PASIV ran out and he was supposed to wake up. Was it worth waiting?

He was sitting in a chair. In the room. _That_ room. He hadn't meant to look over, he didn't want to; but he couldn't help his eyes glancing over at the open window. The cool night air making the curtains billow. He had come here ever since that night. Sitting in the exact same position; waiting for her to come back to him.

"Dom?" A voice, _her_ voice, spoke softly behind him. Cobb squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fists tightly, not knowing if he should block out the sound or embrace it.

"Dom?" She repeated, her hand now lay delicately on his shoulder. Cobb slowly looked up at the touch, tears in his eyes as he stared up at the woman he had cared so much for.

"Why Mal?" He asked desperately, searching her eyes in hopes of an answer; any answer.

"You and I. We can be together now." She whispered confidently as Cobb's heart sank.

"No Mal, this isn't the way. You were wrong." Cobb's voice began to crack. He had to make her understand. _He_ had done this; although he wasn't ready to accept the fact that nothing could make it right. Nothing ever again.

Mal moved to stand in front of him, both hands resting gently on either side of his face as she wiped away a few of his stray tears.

"Everything is ok now." Mal reassured him with a smile, but Cobb shook his head. "No Mal! It's not!" He broke down, elbows rested on his knees as he buried his face in his hands.

"Why would you do this to me? To us? To James, to Phillipa!" He was shouting now, but Mal still looked unfazed.

"You will see." She cooed, lightly touching his arm now. "We will be together. I will wait for you. When you realize we can be a family again. When you see clearly again. I will be waiting for you."

_Would you care for me because I'm tired,_

_Tired of all this life..._

_Would you care for me because I feel like,_

_I've been cut inside..._

"No Mal...you're gone." Cobb whispered back, not trusting his wavering voice as he lowered his gaze to the carpeted floor.

"I am here right now." Mal argued back, standing in front of him with her arms crossed.

"This isn't reality." Cobb whispered to himself, trying to ignore the woman in front of him. His wife was gone. She was dead. This was only the projection of his once beloved wife.

Mal bent down to his eye-level as she stroked his now disheveled hair, "Reality is whatever you want it to be." She told him in all seriousness, giving him a hard stare as Cobb clenched his eyes shut, shaking his head.

_13 minutes left...but is it worth waiting?..._

"Choose me and stay here. You said we would always be together..." Mal sadly repeated his own words.

Cobb slowly opened his eyes, his hand reaching into his jacket pocket as he pulled out his handgun.

"What are you doing?" Mal asked curiously as she eyed the gun that now lay on his lap.

"I'm leaving now, Mal." Cobb told her definitively, not being able to take any more of the self-inflicted torment.

_Only 13 minutes left..._

Cobb raised the gun to his temple.

_Only 13 minutes left..._

"I'll be here for you when you return." Mal spoke softly as she took a few steps away from him.

_Only 13 minutes left...But it's not worth waiting..._

The sound of the gun was the last thing Cobb heard as he opened his eyes, a large gasp escaping his throat as he woke up to his true reality.

He would be back. Even she knew that...He wasn't strong enough to stay away yet...And when he did decide to go back, she'd be waiting...So they could always be together...

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**Hope you liked! Please review, I love all comments! Thanks for reading!**


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